Hello again and welcome back to the bleak winter edition of my DVD movie reviews. This time i am reviewing the Box set Haganai. I watched this originally as a fan sub with the original series being called Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sunkunai if you are looking it up. I really enjoyed this series as I have a rather twisted sense of humor and had to have it as soon as it came out (meaning I got a pretty poor deal on it).
This series follows two main characters: Kodaka, a blondish haired boy who is alienated because everyone perceives him as a bully and a delinquent and Yozora a socially awkward and hard to approach girl as they discover each other and form a club to better learn how to make friends. This club becomes more popular than they first thought as they are joined by a rich girl and the schools eccentric scientist to form an odd mix of strange attempts at making friends and never fully realizing that they are a group of friends within themselves. Will they find a way to get over their shyness and strangeness so that they can become popular?
The animation is the first thing I enjoy in this film. It is very clear and colorful. The movements are very smooth and there is only a limited emphasis on the bouncy breasts that everyone seems to love in these things. The voice acting for the Sub and dub passes the course and is quite enjoyable. The music is appropriate and the opening and end themes are fun to watch and listen to (though the end theme is a tad hard for me). The characters are written to be likable and the humor is very present with even storytelling along the way. You will find yourself laughing at many points here watching them struggle to fit in.
Though the story is even in running it is sad that this ends with many plot points only partially resolved. This of course continues into another series (yet to be licensed here but can be watched on hulu). The continued emphasis and sexualizing of the characters including some of the nude shots of the main characters 12 year old sister and the 12 year old faculty adviser are a little out of taste. This may be legal in Japan but is a tad creepy here in the united states.
In the end this is not for everyone but I find the humor good old fashioned fun for everyone.
Rating: 7/10
The version I got was the limited edition Funimation release. These tend to gain value over time and I am hoping that my investment pays off.
Used: $25.00 Ebay
(http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321303352193&item=321303352193)
New: $36.96 Amazon Marketplace
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00CU6WBGI/dealoz_us_movie-20/ref=nosim)
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